Alec Ounsworth “Mo Beauty” Review

So you are Alec Ounsworth—lead singer and songwriter of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah—and you find that your band’s debut CD is one of the first to catch the wave of the blogosphere’s hype so you ride it to considerable attention. Fast forward to your second album. Times have changed. The same people who originally lined up behind you are now chopping your knees out beneath you at every chance they get. Bummer. Fast forward again. You now get a chance to release your first solo album and you are lucky enough to have New Orleans studio legends backing you up. You really mix it up, right? Well, not so fast…

The disc, which does feature some sharper production and brassy, well-arranged moments, still feels like Alec Ounsworth (who not only fronts CYHSY, but also Flashy Python). His pained croak and dark tinged lyrics still are going to either pull you in or push you far away. He mixes in one of the best ballads he has written (“Holy, Holy, Holy Moses (Song for New Orleans)”) into a batch of punchy, mildly funky stabs at angular pop rock that he has become well known for. Highlights include the pulsing “Modern Girl (…with Scissors),” “Obscene Queen Bee #2″ and the scratched soul of “South Philadelphia (Drug Days).” Ounsworth, with the crack backing band and a new found love for swirling orchestration, sounds like the guy who won everyone over a few years back. Even if you “didn’t like” Some Loud Thunder because Clap Your Hands Say Yeah were passe, you can come back now; this album is really good.

Also: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah “Clap Your Hands Say Yeah” (Best of the Decade)